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TechnoratiIs the Obama White House vetting prayers? Dan Gilgoff of U.S. News and World Report reports that this represents a "new tradition" established by the administration of President Barack Obama. As Gilgoff revealed, "In a departure from previous presidents, his public rallies are opening with invocations that have been commissioned and vetted by the White House."
The issue of public prayer is increasingly controversial in an age of religious diversity and increasing secularization. Yet, prayers at government ceremonies and events have been common since the nation's founding and, until recently, few prayers related to White House events have been controversial. Radical church/state separationists consider these prayers to be improper and perhaps unconstitutional, but this is a hard case to make given the nation's historic practice.
On the other hand, sign me up as an opponent of any prayer that is vetted by any government official or agency. For reasons having less to do with the Constitution and more to do with the nature of prayer, I cannot imagine that a Christian minister could in good conscience allow the government to edit or approve a prayer.
Gilgoff's report contains some shocking details:
During Obama's recent visit to Fort Myers, Fla., to promote his economic stimulus plan, a black Baptist preacher delivered a prayer that carefully avoided mentioning Jesus, lest he offend anyone in the audience. And at Obama's appearance last week near Phoenix to unveil his mortgage bailout plan, an administrator for the Tohono O'odham Nation delivered the prayer, taking the unusual step of writing it down so he could E-mail it to the White House for vetting. American Indian prayers are typically improvised.
Though invocations have long been commonplace at presidential inaugurations and certain events like graduations or religious services at which presidents are guests, the practice of commissioning and vetting prayers for presidential rallies is unprecedented in modern history, according to religion and politics experts.
Consider what is at stake here. When the White House requires a prayer to be submitted in advance, it takes on an editorial role. This editorial role means that the White House is explicitly approving certain prayers for delivery. The prayer delivered in this context should bear a label that clearly identifies it as approved by the White House - government-approved prayer.
Gilgoff relates the experience of Ryan Culp in Elkhart, Indiana:
The day before the president arrived in Elkhart, Culp spent an hour and a half crafting his prayer, roughly a minute and 20 seconds long, before calling an aide from the White House Office of Public Liaison to recite it for vetting, as the administration requested. "She said that it was beautiful and that there shouldn't be a problem with it but that she would call in the morning if there was," Culp recalls.
The White House had no revisions for the prayer, which opened with the line: "Dear Heavenly Father, we come to you this day thanking you for who you are—a God that cares about each of our needs, our desires, and our fears." Culp delivered it the following day at Obama's town hall meeting, landing a handshake from the president and mentions in several local papers.
There is much here that can only be characterized as ominous and troubling. The White House official reported back to Mr. Culp that it "had no revisions for the prayer" after reviewing its content for several hours. But there is no rationale for this process unless the White House would, if dissatisfied with the proposed prayer, order some revision. Continue »
